Imtiaz Ali interview: On how ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’ found its voice at the box office

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Bollywood filmmaker Imtiaz Ali opens up about the surprising rise of his film ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’, the Partition drama starring Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari Wagh and Vedang Raina

Updated - July 30, 2026 04:15 pm IST

Imtiaz Ali during his visit to Bengaluru to celebrate the success of ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’ with fans. | Photo Credit: RAVICHANDRAN N

Soon after its release on June 12, 2026, Main Vaapas Aaungawas proving to be a typical Imtiaz Ali movie at the box office. Several of his films are celebrated as classics years after underperforming in theatres, and Main Vaapas Aaunga seemed to be following a similar trajectory. The film had a limited release and footfalls were far from encouraging.

Then, social media became the movie’s biggest ally. One post of appreciation led to another, and more people began turning up at theatres to watch Main Vaapas Aaunga. Confessions of crying inside cinema halls followed. Fans wanted to meet, discuss the film, and have a “group crying session”. Tweets and Instagram stories urged people to watch the movie.

“People felt a sense of ownership,” Imtiaz tells The Hindu. “They watched the movie, liked it and urged their friends and families to watch it. They made Instagram reels about it. The reels had so much earnestness in them that everybody was surprised and they came to see what the movie was about.”

Seeing the outpouring of love, Imtiaz decided to personally champion the movie by participating in ground-level promotions. He began meeting fans after the show, discussing the movie and thanking them for their support. En route to theatres in Bengaluru, the Jab We Met director discusses the remarkable turnaround of his movie.

“My friend Anurag Kashyap, who now resides in Bengaluru, called me to say the film had very few shows in the city,” he recalls. “A week later, they increased, and there was even a 6.30am show, which was filling fast. I was surprised that people were waking up this early to watch a movie. Bengaluru woke up, and parallelly, the entire nation woke up to show love for Main Vaapas Aaunga,” he says with a relieved smile.

Diljit Dosanjh and Naseeruddin Shah in the movie. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Main Vaapas Aaunga centres on Ishar Singh Grewal, a 95-year-old Sikh man (Naseeruddin Shah) who has spent his life haunted by a promise he made to his first love, Jiya (Sharvari Wagh), to return to her after they were separated during the violence of the 1947 Partition. Diljit Dosanjh plays Ishar’s grandson, who decides to fulfill his grandfather’s final wish.

With two timelines, fundamentally two different people in love, and a conflict that pushes the couple to consider eloping before they get separated, the trailer of Main Vaapas Aaunga suffered from a sense of familiarity. Imtiaz’s biggest hits, such as Love Aaj Kal and Jab We Met, had similar tropes.

“When the trailer of Main Vaapas Aaunga was out, many felt it was another Love Aaj Kal. A bit of worry crept into my team,” admits Imtiaz. “However, I was very sure that this was a different movie. This movie has two timelines, and a young man and his older self are pivotal to the plot. This was something we saw in Love Aaj Kal. To make sure that Main Vaapas Aaunga doesn’t resemble that, I didn’t cast the same actor in the young and old roles. If the young and old characters were written for the same actor, we could have signed a big star. We didn’t go in that direction. We wanted two authentic performers representing two timelines. I also knew that when we reveal more about the core concept — Partition — they would wash away all the reminisce of Love Aaj Kal,” explains the filmmaker.

Sharvari Wagh and Vedang Raina in ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

While an earnest Vedang Raina essayed the young Ishar, Naseeruddin Shah played the older version of the character. In what is easily one of the finest performances by an Indian actor this year, Shah fully embodies Ishar, suffering from dementia and burdened by the painful memories of the Partition. Imtiaz says Shah is an actor who defies methods.

“It took four hours for him to be ready for scenes because of the prosthetic makeup. He had to lie down, and we had to wire him and put chest leads. So, every time we had to change the light or a shot, he had no option but to lie down on the bed. While the lightman would climb on top of him to change the settings, he would be mumbling. Naseer saab would talk to himself all the time. Sometimes, when I got close to him to explain a scene, I heard him mumble bogus words. That was his way of staying in the character of a person suffering from dementia and to keep the mood of the scene alive,” describes Imtiaz.